Music Blog

Writing Off Those Train and Blue October Shows? Think Again...

Okay, admit it: Most of you weren't very excited to hear that Train -- the soccer-mom fave known for "Drops of Jupiter" and other soft-glow hits -- and Point-staple rockers Blue October were coming to the Pageant. And so perhaps you missed the opening acts announced for each show, assuming they would be equally not-up-your-alley. However, a quick glance at the Pageant's website might just change your mind.

Butch Walker and the Black Widows are the support for Train's April 5 show. Walker is the patron saint of modern alternative power-pop -- after a stint with the hair band SouthGang, he found minor fame with the Marvelous 3 ("Freak of the Week") and has been picking away at a solo career for the last decade. (His production/writing career for other artists -- including the Donnas, Avril Lavigne and Weezer -- is booming.) The Walker/Black Widows album, I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart, is out February 23. Tickets for the Train show, incidentally, are $30 main floor, $35 balcony.

Hurricane Bells, meanwhile, is opening for Blue October on April 21. The band is the latest project from Longwave's Steve Schiltz. You might recognize HB from the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack hit "Monsters," although it has a full-length, Tonight is the Ghost, out now. Much quieter and more traditional than Longwave -- think piano, acoustic guitars, resigned melancholy -- Ghost is the type of music perfect for this cold, grey weather. Fisher Price-ified video for "This Year" below. This show is $25, and the balcony is sold out.